Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of clothing. More specifically, the invention comprises a removable shirt cuff which can be applied to shirts having french cuffs or the more common button cuffs.
2. Description of the Related Art.
Removable shirt cuffs were once more common than they are today. Back when the typical consumer could only afford a new shirt every year or so, it was practical to provide for replaceable cuffs so that a worn out cuff would not require the replacement of the entire shirt. U.S. Pat. No. 1,314,325 to Heeren (1919) discloses one such device. The shirt is modified with a special attaching flap. A series of stud buttons arrayed around the shirt sleeve""s perimeter engaged a corresponding series of button holes in the cuff. The special attaching flap serves to conceal these studs, thereby giving the visual impression of a conventional cuff. The Heeren cuff can only be used with a specially-modified shirt. It cannot be used with a shirt already having a conventional cuff.
A different approach is taken in U.S. Pat. No. 1,319,851 to Daily (1919). Like the Heeren device, the Daily cuff uses a special flap attached to the shirt sleevexe2x80x94though the flap is smaller. This flap slips through an elongated slot in the cuff, folding back on a securing button.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,326,514 to Ladd (1917) uses two large buttons on the shirt sleeve, and a series of smaller fasteners arrayed around the shirt sleeve""s perimeter. It results in an unconventional appearancexe2x80x94at least by modern standardsxe2x80x94since it leaves a portion of the shirt sleeve material protruding beyond the bottom of the cuff (see FIG. 1).
A detachable cuff also having an unusual appearance is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,349,987 to Strumph (1,349,987). This device uses an extra internal fold in the shirt sleeve to form a clevis joint. The edge of the detachable cuff which faces the sleeve then becomes the tang in the formation of a tang and clevis joint. A set of additional fasteners are disposed around the rear of the cuff to secure its perimeter to the shirt sleeve.
Another tang and clevis joint is employed in U.S. Pat. No. 1,413,897 to Calco (1922). In this variation, the clevis is formed in the rear edge of the cuff by making a second flap. The tang is actually the forward edge of the shirt sleeve. Three buttons or studs, arranged around the perimeter of the sleeve, are then employed to secure the cuff to the sleeve. A similar approach is taken in U.S. Pat. No. 1,645,833 to Torme (1924)xe2x80x94although without the use of the tang and clevis.
All these prior are devices result in a cuff being detachable from the shirt. However, they have inherent limitations in that:
1. All employ modified shirt sleeves, meaning that the cuff can only be used with a particularly suited shirt;
2. All employ at least three fastening points, making them cumbersome to apply;
3. None of the shirts disclosed may be used without the cuffs;
4. None of the cuffs can be applied to a shirt already having a cuff; and
5. Some of the cuffs give an unconventional appearance.
The present invention is a removable auxiliary cuff which can be applied to virtually any type of shirt. It does not require any modification to the shirt. When in place, the cuff gives the appearance of a high-quality french cuff shirt. It can be applied to a shirt already having a french cuff or to one having a conventional button cuff. Different fabrics and colors can be employed to make the cuff, thereby creating a pleasing and fashionable contrast with the fabric and color of the shirt to which the cuff is applied.